Depths
by Sovietkitty
Summary: While they're searching for the new training grounds, the girls from Rabbit and Duck team enter an abandoned mine, mistaking it for a way to bypass a hill. However, they get lost inside... Will they get out alive ? What are these odd sounds they hear ? Why is the atmosphere so unhealthy here ? Inspired from a modded Skyrim quest. I'll make the cover later.
1. Prologue : The Mine

**AUTHOR'S NOTE : Hey my little ones ! It's been a long time ! After writing The Cats, I needed a cooldown. I loved writing it and I couldn't find any other ideas. Plus, school was taking all my time, drawing and playing Skyrim did too, and now I come with a new story that is (sometimes strongly) inspired of a Skyrim mod quest named "Into the Depths". Ahh... It feels so good to type and translate again.**

* * *

"Where can they be?" Azusa asked, looking around. "It's been an hour since we started to search for these grounds!"

The Rabbit and Duck teams had went to find the new training grounds. Some houses on the verge of collapse had been razed, creating more space to go with the tanks. They were walking round in circles. At least that wasn't only Azusa's opinion, but also Noriko's. The captain of the ex-volleyball team was starting to get impatient.

Most of the others had followed them without too much fuss. Only Ayumi and Shinobu had a little trouble to get involved in the searches. They hadn't really liked the idea of venturing into nature without knowing how to find their way. They knew how to find the North with the stars, but it was daytime and they could only see the sun. Remained behind, they were at the rear of the group with Saki. Before them, there were Taeko, Akebi and Karina, who had tagged along with the crowd without asking too many questions, then Aya and Yuuki, happy to walk outside, and finally the two leaders.

"If you look for the gymnasium, it is far behind you," Noriko joked.

"Oh, well... I'd like to get it over with all of this," the Commander of Rabbits sighed.

"It isn't very safe to go to places like this without any map," Ayumi said.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," the sports leader reassured. "We'll be back tonight."

"Especially if we were to get lost..." Shinobu whispered. "Anyway, don't complain if we are delayed by a deplorable sense of orientation for some of us."

"I told you there was no need to worry yourself sick, we will end up winning this game that life imposes on us," Noriko continued.

"But I didn't say I was worried. I just said that some of us didn't necessarily know how to take their bearings", the tall girl opposed. "It's not like attacking an adversary... It looks more like reconnaissance."

"Leave it, you know how she is," Taeko whispered, gently stroking her shoulder.

"I agree with Ayumi and Shinobu" Akebi said. "I don't want to spend the night outside... It will be so cold!"

"Oh, come on, relax! Even if you get lost, there is the network," Aya intervened, brandishing proudly her phone before taking a photo.

"At least we can call for help if things go sour," the girl with the red headband said calmly.

"And what if we find ourselves in the white zone at the wrong time?" Ayumi sneered.

"Well, stop being pessimistic and let's continue, we will end up finding them!" is imposed the head of the volleyball team. "Azusa, did you see something?"

"Not yet, that's why I seek! I am getting tired of snooping and finding nothing! In addition, imagine how the President's face will look like if she learns that our search yielded nothing..."

"Maybe she will understand," Karina said.

"You know how Kadotani-san is... And yet, she's not worse than Kawashima-san," the commander of Rabbits whispered.

"Stop worrying and get on! I'm sure that if you spent less time procrastinating, we would have already found them!" the short sporty girl snarled.

"Maybe we should explain everything to the President, Karina isn't wrong", the bespectacled girl said. "I have her number, after all. We can call her, tell her and go back home then."

"We'd better do something else than making phone calls," Noriko sighed.

Ayumi and Shinobu looked up on the volleyball captain, then exchanged glances before nodding. They were understanding themselves.  
They continued to advance in this artificial nature, this boat that looked like a piece of a continent, but was only the illusion of being on land. Yet all looked like a real place in Japan. Trees, grass, a river, a city, a school, everything seemed to be the true Ooarai.

Sometimes, on her side, Ayumi asked herself many questions. How all this was done? How long it took? It was neither written nor mentioned anywhere. Nobody seemed to know. It was a mystery. She said nothing to her friends. They certainly wouldn't understand. Maybe Azusa would, but she wasn't even sure. She had sometimes spoken with Shinobu, who was in her class, but the latter hesitated to think of it, being both absorbed by sport and her more or less hidden relationship with Taeko. They had less time to talk since both volleyball players had confessed their feelings to each other. Few people knew about their relationship: Akebi was very tolerant and fully accepted, but Noriko had a homophobic tendency, so they were making sure to be discreet. Ayumi was one of those who knew and proudly kept the secret. She found them so adorable together! She didn't want external factors to break their union. It wasn't like Yuuki, who had a boyfriend, or Aya, who talked to her crush on phone every evening. It was more complicated, but both girls were happy with each other.

* * *

While they were walking near a rocky place, the acute and singing voice of Karina pulled her from her thoughts:

"Hey, look, what's that?"

She looked up. On the side of a hill, there was a double, old door, probably leading to some underground place.

"Let's see, this is perhaps a shortcut to bypass the hill" Noriko suggested before going forward, leading the group.

"Are you sure we can go thre?" Akebi worried. "I don't really like that."

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," Azusa said calmly, following the volleyball captain.

"And if we get stuck there?" Shinobu sighed, less and less confident.

"I don't have a good feeling about this," Taeko whispered.

"Stop whining, you cowards, and come here, we won't be at school before the night anyway," the Ducks' leader groaned.

"Do you think there is something here?" Yuuki asked.

"In any case, there will be everything except the network," said Aya, turning off her phone, which was unusual from her when its battery was full. "But I am curious to see what's inside!"

Most had already gone inside, led by Noriko and Azusa. The rest of the Rabbit and Duck team had followed. Ayumi had preferred to stay back with Saki, Akebi and the couple. They looked at themselves, and entered reluctantly, knowing it would be useless to resist.

Behind the doors, there was the beginning of a long level.  
Old wooden posts, sometimes covered with mushrooms, supported significant scaffolding that rose several meters high. A strange red glow seemed to emanate from some places without having a true origin.  
It was cold in this old mine, apparently abandoned for long. Some wagons were still in place. Sometimes one could see rusty pickaxes left here. The fungi had invaded the places where land was more humid. The atmosphere wasn't very healthy, without being too anxiety-provoking. The cobwebs had invaded the scene; the girls couldn't see twenty meters ahead.

"Let us move forward," Noriko ordered. "There's always an entrance and an exit in this kind of place. It shouldn't be far away."

"Are you really sure of yourself?" the tall blonde trembled, starting to get scared. "You've never entered a mine, Isobe-san..."

"I know what I do," she replied sharply. "Follow me."

"Pay attention, senpai, it may be dangerous," Azusa warned.

"Don't make such a big deal of it. Shortly, we will be out!" the volleyball captain finished.

"Ffff... you're stubborn", the Rabbit commander moaned.

Reluctantly, Ayumi followed the group, always with the same people. She didn't like it. This abandoned mine frightened her. She didn't know why, but she feared something, which wasn't usual for her. She felt a danger, but couldn't tell from where it could come. She wasn't feeling well. However, she walked.


	2. Chapter 1 : Upper shafts

**Author's note : Well, this one took a long time. I'm writing lots of things at once... Including some Touhou stories that are in French. Drawing takes much time too. ^^" But I'll make sure to finish this story.. even if I tend to start a lot and finish less. :'D  
I can't wait for the movie to come out, seriously. It will be awesome and I promise to write more and MORE HEAVY STORIIIIIEEEES AAAAAAAAARGH**

 **I love to abuse my favourite characters... That's all. xD**

 **Good reading, potato chip.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

The mine was very dark. Lots of times, Ayumi got caught in spiderwebs. Each time, she had to rub her face to remove them. It was as if nothing had been maintained for many, many years.  
The only light sources were these odd red glows emanating from some parts of the posts. It was already good because if the small group was in complete darkness, it would be even more difficult for them.

They continued to advance until they managed to locate in the dark. Gradually, their eyes adjusted to the lack of light. But why these fungi emitted such lights?

"Are you really certain of what you're doing?" Akebi worried again.

"Listen, if you're not a sissy, follow us. Otherwise, stay there, but we can't guarantee that you won't starve to death or die from dehydratation here, Sasaki", Noriko replied without looking back. "I remind you that we have already won competitions which were pretty hot, so it's not a quick getaway in a mine that will scare us!"

"But you don't know how to get out of there, do you? You who never even had visited even just an underground tunnel?" the blonde continued, still frightened.

"Do not worry. At least, I'm not a coward who whimpers as soon as she's in the dark," the volleyball captain whispered harshly.

Akebi remained silent, offended by her friend's remark. Ayumi comforted her with a little pat on the shoulder while they were still walking in the dark. The blonde was shivering from fear and her heart was beating wildly. She was probably the most scared of all.

Taeko was not very reassured; she held Shinobu's hand a bit more tightly. Nobody could see them being that close; it was the right time to have physical contact that was a bit more than friendly.

Saki followed without fuss. However, she didn't look comfortable. But she looked around. What was she thinking? Ayumi often asked herself this question. Her teammate spoke only little, but one couldn't doubt that she was lost in her thoughts.

"It's scary here," Karina said.

"At least there is some light," Aya replied. "As long as we can see where we are going..."

"I am thirsty, my throat burns," Yuuki murmured. "Does anyone know where there is water?"

Azusa looked around.

"It's a little wet here, but there is a puddle over there," she pointed out.

The group stopped to let their friend drink. Then they continued to advance in the dark corridors.

* * *

Ayumi looked around while staying close to the blonde player. Sometimes there were some old boxes that were left there. There were also some barrels here and there. She looked in one of them and found a few pieces of dry bread. She made sure to keep them: she remembered an advice of Yukari Akiyama, a Panzerfahren fellow who was always very provident. She loved her very much. Her love of life could revive everyone's mood in a critical moment. It had happened a few times in the past and she always had nice memories with her.

Discreetly, she continued to take food in wooden boxes and barrels. Sometimes there were huge spiders : she was not arachnophobic, fortunately, but tried to keep herself from shouting in surprise. She stopped when she thought it was going to get suspect. She went close to Akebi again.

For their part, Taeko and Shinobu weren't sure why they were following. As time passed, they wondered more and more why they got themselves into such an adventure. If they could have chosen, they would have preferred to go back to the entrance. The girl with the red ribbon was more cautious than her partner : she tended to look where she set her foot more than usual. She wasn't naturally anxious, but she didn't take unnecessary risks.  
Her girlfriend tended to get closer to the walls. Although she could stumble, she didn't like the idea of walking in the middle. She felt something unhealthy over her head and preferred to keep herself away in order to protect the one she loved in case of danger.

Saki was still advancing. She thought of how the mine was built. Why was it built on this boat? She didn't even know when the ship was finished. 20 years ? 40 years ? 60 years ? A century ? Nothing told her anything. She thought of all the possibilities. No doubt a mine was built to supply the coal engines; but were they using coal for making the engines work? Electricity? Gas? Oil? Hydroelectric power generated by the propellers that would make an alternator turn? She remembered being in the depths of the ship, but had not thought about such details. She was busy wondering if she would come out of the basements one day. Her friends were very distressed over this period, even when accompanied by Saori Takebe who was a sister to them.

Karina, Yuuki and Aya were closer to Noriko and Azusa. If Karina wasn't really worried and enjoyed the fright this place gave her, even though she was not the most comfortable, Yuuki felt more and more ill. For how long had this water stagnated? She almost regretted having drunk. It was a huge thirst, certainly, but she hadn't thought about if the water was still good. She could have drunk a stagnant liquid or anything else... For the moment, she was still physically good, but she wondered if she was going to end up being sick. And who knew if they would leave the mine shafts quickly?

Aya just followed the march, scared by the darkness and heaviness that reigned there. She thought she heard some sort of metallic sound coming from the bottom of the mine: she seemed to be the only one to perceive it because nobody reacted. She wondered if it was real or just a hallucination.

Azusa and Noriko had mixed views on this escapade. Noriko was quite confident. She was certain to find the exit. No matter how long it would take, she knew she would get out of there one day. She wasn't concerned at all. Nothing frightened her and she had taken far greater risks in the past.

But Azusa felt less good. She began to ask herself questions. The air was humid and oppressive. She wasn't struggling to breathe, but she wasn't sensing it good. She didn't like it. Her eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, she sometimes discerned strange shapes in the shadows. But because she didn't want to scare the others, she didn't show her discomfort. She didn't want everyone to panic. This would be unmanageable.

* * *

A sound began to be noticeable as they advanced. The sound of water. There was an underground stream nearby.

They walked into what led to another shaft. This was already more spacious and bright here. The air was also less confined. There was surely a well not far away. Drops were falling from the ceiling, probably condensation. It was normal to have moisture in a mine.

Aya heard the metallic sound again. It was the second time she perceived it. Strangely, again, no one seemed to notice.

Ayumi looked around. Everything had been dug so that it wouldn't collapse, or at least to limit the risk of landslide. She was couldn't definitely believe she was actually in a boat. It was as if she were on solid ground. But which depth was the ground on this giant aircraft carrier reaching? How deep were they located? Ten meters or more, no doubt. She had no idea and was almost afraid to know.

* * *

"Look, there's a tunnel here. With any luck, we will succeed in finding the exit, it's probably a shortcut!" Noriko launched by pointing a way out of the arm.

"Oh god, no..." Akebi trembled. "Isobe-san, you're such a risk taker... And what if we end up trapped there ?"

"Hey, the last time you told us it was a shortcut, we got lost in this mine", Shinobu hissed. "I follow you because I don't want to be there forever, but you should haven't entered here."

"I hope we will come out of there quickly," Taeko whispered.

"I don't have a very good feeling," Ayumi said.

"Same for me," Yuuki confessed. "I must tell you something, by the way..."

"Come on!" Azusa ordered. "Follow us."

The girl with bluish hair advanced while her friend with short black hair approached. They walked on the wooden floor of a duct that seemed to lead to another access.

"You wanted ?" Ayumi asked.

"Well, it was about-"

Yuuki didn't have time to finish her sentence. When they all found themselves on the floor, they heard a loud, strong crack that resonated in all the space around. Ayumi's heart failed to stop. In a split second, the ground under their feet gave way and all felt themselves falling into the void. They felt that the fall would be high and perhaps even deadly. They didn't even see what was down. It was either life or death. Was this already the end of their adventure?

 **"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !"**


End file.
